Boy killed in accident was 'little angel'

Oct. 17, 2013

Updated Oct. 18, 2013 7:25 a.m.

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Six-year-old Alan Martinez was also killed Monday while crossing the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive. Martinez's 7-year-old sister was also in the intersection and escaped injury. Martinez's grandmother, 51-year-old Carmen Teresa Silva of Santa Ana, died of her injuries Thursday at Western Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Oralia Carranza

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Oralia Carranza is the mother of Alan Martinez, 6, and daughter of Carmen Teresa Silva, 51. Monday morning, Martinez and Silva were struck by a pickup truck while walking Martinez to his school. Martinez died Monday and his grandmother, Silva, died in a hospital Thursday. Here Carranza talks about her desire to send her mother's body to Mexico for burial. She said she lacked the funds to bury her mother or pay for housing for her self and her surviving children. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Dozens of prayer candles lined the curb near where Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, were struck and fatally injured by a Ford-F-250 pickup. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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An unidentified photograph was left at the sidewalk memorial for Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, who were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive, Santa Ana. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A mother takes her daughter to school Tuesday morning and stops to place a flower at the memorial for Alan Martinez, 6, who was killed when struck by pickup Monday morning in Santa Ana. His grandmother, 51-year-old Carmen Teresa Silva, died Thursday from injuries. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Oralia Carranza is the mother of Alan Martinez, 6, and daughter of Carmen Teresa Silva, 51. Monday morning, Martinez and Silva were struck by a pickup truck while walking Martinez to his school. Martinez died Monday and his grandmother, Silva, died in a hospital Thursday. Here Carranza talks about her desire to send her mother's body to Mexico for burial. She said she lacked the funds to bury her mother or pay for housing for her self and her surviving children. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Guadalupe Magallanez said she let 51-year-old Carmen Teresa Silva and Silva's three grandchildren sleep on the floor of her one-room motel room at the California Lodge Suites in Santa Ana. Magallanez said she took Silva and her three grandchildren in when they were found living homeless near the motel's swimming pool. Silva and her grandson, Alan Martinez, 6, have died as the result of being hit by a pickup truck while walking to the children's elementary school. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A second pedestrian has died in a hospital from injuries suffered Monday after being hit by a vehicle in Santa Ana. Carmen Teresa Silva is the grandmother of 6-year-old Alan Martinez who was also killed while crossing the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive. Thursday morning the sidewalk memorial had grown with many stuffed animals and toys. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup that had stopped at a four-way stop, then headed south on Ramona Drive and turned east on Central Avenue.The 17-year-old male driver of the truck stopped at the scene. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Thursday morning, a neighbor stops to look at the sidewalk memorial for Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, who were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive, Santa Ana. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Dozens of prayer candles and flower bouquets line the curb near where Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, who were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive, Santa Ana. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Dozens of stuffed animals and toys decorate the sidewalk memorial for Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, who were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive, Santa Ana. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Dozens of stuffed animals and toys decorate the sidewalk memorial for Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, who were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive, Santa Ana. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Favorite foods were added to the sidewalk memorial for Alan Martinez, 6, and Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, who were struck by a Ford-F-250 pickup at the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive, Santa Ana. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Oralia Carranza is the mother of Alan Martinez, 6, and daughter of Carmen Teresa Silva, 51. Monday morning, Martinez and Silva were struck by a pickup truck while walking Martinez to his school. Martinez died Monday and his grandmother, Silva, died in a hospital Thursday. Here Carranza talks on the phone to make arrangements to send her mother's body to Mexico for burial. She said she lacked the funds to bury her mother or pay for her own housing. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Six-year-old Alan Martinez was also killed Monday while crossing the intersection of Central Avenue and Ramona Drive. Martinez's 7-year-old sister was also in the intersection and escaped injury. Martinez's grandmother, 51-year-old Carmen Teresa Silva of Santa Ana, died of her injuries Thursday at Western Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Oralia Carranza

The memorial’s stuffed animals, colorful balloons and bright religious candles contrasted starkly with the dull orange spray paint applied by police to the street marking the spot where the boy and his paternal grandmother Carmen Teresa Silva, 51, were killed Monday morning by a truck.

Manuel Carranza said through his daughter Cynthia Carranza that he will deeply miss his grandson’s smile and laughter. Family members described Alan as a “little angel.”

“He looked just like me when I was a little boy,” Manuel Carranza said wistfully.

Alan died a few hours after the accident that occurred in an unmarked crosswalk. Silva died Thursday at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

Silva was walking Alan and his 7-year-old sister Mia Martinez to Washington Elementary School when the accident happened.

Mia Martinez wasn’t injured by the Ford F-250 pickup that hit her brother and grandmother after pulling away from a four-way stop. The 17-year-old driver of the pickup hasn’t been cited by police, and an investigation into the accident is continuing.

The accident happened in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood. Thursday morning, several mothers pushed their children in strollers along a narrow sidewalk and paused briefly at Alan’s memorial.

But Manuel Carranza and his daughter, Oralia Carranza, who is Alan’s mother, lingered longer to read heartfelt notes and marvel at trinkets left by mourners.

“I’m heartbroken for my grandson,” Manuel Carranza said. “He is just a little baby. What happened to him is not right.”

Oralia Carranza said the death of her son and his grandmother, who was the mother of Alan’s father, is a double tragedy, but she is coping through faith in God and support from her family.

She plans to remember Alan as a “happy little boy.” “He was always singing and laughing,” Oralia Carranza said.

The Alan Yahir Martinez Memorial Fund has been established at Wells Fargo Bank to help cover the boy’s funeral expenses.

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